


Villainous Beginnings - A DND character backstory so far back it wasnt even about him but his father

by BrotherCraig



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 05:37:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18958951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrotherCraig/pseuds/BrotherCraig
Summary: Tyr, an ambitious rogue, leads a go big or go home mission but encounters something that will change the trajectory of his entire nation.





	1. The Job

“Once we’re out, stick to the shadows and take it slow.” Tyr’esh scanned the packed carriage to make sure his instructions were understood. A pack of elves clad in black leathers nodded solemnly back at their leader, each one meeting his eyes. This would be the biggest job they had ever attempted. It wasn’t even a week ago they were mere street urchins mugging unwary travelers. Tyr’esh had become restless though. He began to spout off ambitions of grandeur. Tyr was tired of the small time and tonight was the night he would make a name for himself as The Shadow King.  
The carriage rattled along the cobbled path up to the Elven Fortress. Fort Vanaar was the most formidable Elven architecture ever besides the capital. Gargantuan silver oaks were magically gnarled and shifted into towers. Knotholes made arrow slits and spiked vines hugged the trunk preventing would be siegers from climbing. More vines created walls between the towers. These vines were colored like steel and once again covered in thorns, though these thorns were so large they could threaten an armored siege weapon. The vine walls appeared to shine slightly, making it truly look like steel armor. The shining effect was really created from sap on the vines that could eat through leather and through a man’s flesh. These are only the fortifications the elves could glimpse through their tiny carriage.  
The vines making the wall in front of them retracted as an Elven guard waved the driver through. They passed through the wall and into the fort. The carriage bumped and creaked and eventually crawled to a stop. Tyr could hear the driver dismount the front of the carriage. The footsteps began to approach but had also multiplied from just two feet to six. The supposed supplies were about to be unloaded from the carriage.  
“We move like shadows. Stay close and be alert.” Tyr spoke swiftly and with a single word he started a sequence of events that would change the Elven domain of Sylqas forever,”NOW!”  
The Elven invaders burst forth from the back of the carriage. Two shorter elves lead out of the carriage and engaged the two guards. The guards had expected the carriage to be full of materials for the blacksmith, however caught by surprise the two invaders shoved a foot of steel into both of their stomachs simultaneously. The scoundrels muffled the guards screams and tossed them into the back of the carriage. The rest of the group had rushed off towards the main facility. The building was made from stone but also appeared a bronze metallic color. As the group rushed towards it trying to escape the open ground they heard two loud thunks that followed up with bone splintering splats. The invaders looked over their shoulders to see the remnants of the two guard killers. As per the plan they had attempted to scale the silveroak towers to eliminate the lookout guards. The spiked vines had come alive during their climb and swatted both of them off the towers, sending them sprawling 40 feet down to their demise.  
Tyr hadn’t even looked back when he heard the sounds. He could imagine what it was. His resolve was absolute and he would not falter at his goal. With fanatical drive he continued to race towards the building. The tower guards had no doubt alerted the main guard unit now, which gave the intruders two minutes to get to their objective before the guards closed it off completely. Tyr finally approached the building. As he reached for the door the metallic color began to glow red as if it had been thrown into a forge. The door grip immediately burned through his leather gloves, searing his hand, but Tyr made no signs of pain as he forced the heavy door open. As the door opened his crew sprinted inside. Guards were running towards them one holding the door plank that would have barred it shut. They had moved quickly enough to get in but the job had gotten complicated.  
Tyr pulled his hand away from the door as he followed his crew in, leaving burned flesh stuck to the door. The two forces had collided in the atrium hallway. Elven guards, clad in plate and mail, wielded fierce curved swords, with a few even bearing long pikes. Tyr’s pack of thieves were not novice’s in combat but compared to trained guards with superior arms they were at a loss. Tyr watched as two more of his men were killed, as one guardsman impaled a lanky elf and pinned him to a second one behind him. Tyr drew his shortswords and leapt into the clash like a whirlwind. He jumped over a pike thrust and landed on it as if he were weightless. He rushed the pikemen with a sideways slash, separating the guards head from its neck. He spun right stabbing a blade into the back of another guard that was already consumed with another invader. He turned around and threw small daggers at another guard catching him in tendons behind his knees. The guard collapsed to his knees as the fighter he was focused on ran him through with a long sword.  
The tide had turned and Tyr did not want to waste anymore time. He tapped a couple of his comrades and signalled them to follow him. They traveled the halls of the facility ever down. They stuck to corners and used every trick they had to avoid more battles. At one junction they had to bait a guard with one of their own. The guard landed a blow before they pounced and finished him. The crewman who had taken the blow was gravely wounded. Tyr once again signalled to keep moving and abandoned the injured elf. They finally approached the armory staircase. The armory was a large basement room. All the walls were covered in weapons of all sizes and shapes. This had been their treasure chest. They were looting the most heavily fortified fortress in the domain so that they would be on the same grounds as the Elven military in terms of arms.  
The guards who should’ve been at the staircase were missing. They descended the stairs keeping a high level of alertness. The armory came into sight. The walls were covered top to bottom in the finest weapons one could ask for. Tyr took in the sight. Glaives, bows, shields, decorated armors, double edged long swords, short swords with the most devilish curves you could imagine all sat neatly organized, ordered, and most likely counted on the wall racks. Unfortunately for the stealthy duo there were three guards grabbing armaments and preparing to rush to their brethren’s aid. The guards were quite preoccupied with their preparations to notice the two coming down the stairs. Tyr signalled to his associate to take the guard on the right by the spears, while he took out the one on the left by the short swords.  
They nodded to each other and leapt into action. Tyr launched himself from the staircase all the way to his mark. His feet landed on the back of the guard’s calves bringing him down in a startle to his knees. As the two went down Tyr slammed a dagger into the guards skull. When the guard’s lifeless mass hit the ground, his helmet rolled out from his limp fingers.  
He looked to his associate and saw the greed gleaming in his eyes. He looked over at the one guard that was unaccounted for in his attack plan. The guard had already drawn his longsword in attack and was swinging a great cleave at Tyr. Completely calm, Tyr rolled under the great cleave towards the guard bringing his own shortsword to bear. As the longsword passed overhead,Tyr slashed the guard from inside his thigh all the way up to his shoulder in a bladed uppercut. The wounded elf went reeling back into a rack of spears which one by one began to spill on him. Tyr’s associate swiftly stabbed the fallen guard in the chest with a dagger. Tyr looked over at the first guard his associate took on. The guard had his own sword shoved into his stomach.  
“Had some trouble Rahl?” Tyr said lightly but Rahl could hear the bitter scolding behind the words. Rahl had a gash across his chest but it had been superficial, only clearing through his leathers. Tyr had expected more of him, especially against an unwary target. Rahl never answered. He was gazing upon all the weapons that adorned the wall now. He approached a suit of plate armor that was adorned with green etchings of vines and leaves all over it. It was the most valuable and grandest thing Rahl had surely ever seen. Tyr saw the look in Rahl’s eyes and recognized it readily. Greed.  
“Take what you need for now. We’ll gather the rest after the crew catches up.”  
Rahl nodded never taking his eyes off the armor. Tyr began to walk the armory examining all the weapons and armor he could. He approached the shortswords. He gently slid his fingers down the blade of a silver longsword. Blood followed his finger down the blade. Tyr looked down at his hands. They were soaked in blood and he knew not whether it had been his or the guard’s.  
“It could all be yours…” Tyr suddenly heard a woman’s voice. He turned and looked at the staircase. There was no one. He looked over at Rahl, who was trying to don the plate armor, clearly with no knowledge of how to. Rahl hadn’t heard the voice though. Tyr looked back at the shortsword he had been examining.  
“You have to take it…” The woman’s voice again. It came like intimate whispers of a lover. Tyr was unnerved by having a phantom voice in his head but would never allow it to shake him.Tyr reached out again and grabbed the hilt of the shortsword. The wall in front of him began to melt away. Even the shortsword in his hand began to melt. Everything went hazy and suddenly the world around him evaporated up into darkness. In the distance he could see a green glow. He walked to it in the darkness with nothing but blackness beneath his feet. He walked and walked and walked for what seemed an eternity. Suddenly the green glow was right before him at his feet. Tyr knelt down to examine the glow. The glow was coming from a green gauntlet that was stuck into a circular stone surface that had suddenly appeared below him. The circle’s radius only encompassed enough space to support Tyr and the gauntlet.  
“If you want it….you must take it….” The voice whispered its sweet temptations into his ears. Tyr spoke back to the voice this time,”What is it that you suppose I want? Why do I need whatever this is?”  
“You want everything and all things, do you not? To have it all, you must take it.” Tyr did not like the premise but he couldn’t help but feel it deep down. He felt his desire for power and success. He was an ambitious elf, but it couldn’t be helped.  
“Tell me who you are. Why do you hide?” Tyr needed to gain some control of this situation before he acted. Did he even really have a choice in this matter? If he didn’t take it would he just be stuck in this purgatory of nothingness? He needed some more answers.  
“I do not hide anything Tyr’esh Shalaar. I could feel your presence when you entered my grounds. So clever using a carriage. You spilled so much blood on my premises! Oh it was splendid, Tyr’esh Shalaar! You truly have the potential to be the one.”  
Tyr was taken aback. The woman’s voice was referring to the entire fortress as her grounds. The fortress was run by commander Larqul A’thari and technically owned by the elven king. Who is this woman insane enough to think she owns an ancient elven fortress? She also seemed to have quite a thirst for bloodshed. She had practically become giddy when talking about Tyr’s exploit into the fortress.  
“Your name...you did not answer me.” Tyr said with command.

“Ca’ami Al’kari”


	2. Hand of Glory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyr uses his new found strength to escape the fortress.

Tyr began to laugh. Everything made sense to him now. Ca’ami Al’kari, meant the Hand of Glory. The woman’s voice was coming from the gauntlet. He knew not of how or why it was even possible but he understood that he was talking to a glove. A very powerful glove. 

“So...you would have me as an owner then?” He said with a new sense of brazen daring.

“The elves here believe they own me. They’ve believed it for so long they’ve forgotten about me. But I brought you here to me. I brought you to me,” The woman’s voice responded. 

Tyr did not quite understand what she was getting at, but he had heard enough. He removed the blood soaked glove from his right hand and stared down into the glowing green gauntlet. It was vibrant and its glow radiated almost like a heartbeat.   
“Well, I think we have chatted long enough. We’ve been acquainted so how about we get started on this everything and all things that you mentioned.”  
Tyr looked at his hand and flexed it. He looked at every crease and color in his hand. Then his eyes drifted back to the gauntlet. He thrust his hand into the gauntlet with great excitement. The glow of the gauntlet immediately ceased. Its lush green coloring instantly decayed into a dark black. The very form of the glove started changing. What was loose tightened until it was a perfect fit. Luscious beautiful decorations of flora were reshaped into dark spikes. He pulled his hand up to examine it. The same look that Rahl had in the armory was now slathered onto Tyr’s face. The gauntlet was incredible, and Tyr would never be the same. Tyr would make sure the world would never be the same either.   
As he gazed so lovingly upon his new artifact, four braziers suddenly erupted and the circular floor became infinite. The ground began to tremble. Tyr looked down at his four shadows cast by the fiery light. He immediately felt sick. He felt like he was in quicksand. He was being sucked down into his own shadows. Tyr had never felt so much panic in his existence. He had been tricked. Some sort of wizard’s trick to defend the fort. He would die like all the rest who had tried to best the fortress. Then he saw Rahl.   
Tyr was back in the armory but something was off. The rack of shortswords was still in place where it was before it supposedly melted away. In fact nothing had been misplaced at all except what his men were looting at the moment. None of the men even seemed to notice him at all. Tyr still felt queasy and in quicksand. The sensation was beginning to irritate him. As anger began to boil in him, a stretching sensation began to cover his flesh. He wanted to scream as he felt like he was being stretched in four directions. Then with a pop in his ears he had risen through his shadow, on the armory floor.   
“Oh. Hey Boss. Where’d you run off to?” Rahl questioned.  
Tyr quickly racked his mind how he wanted to answer that question. He raised his new piece of armor to show Rahl and his men.   
“I had to acquire this token from the commander himself.” Tyr bluffed. All the men went starry eyed. They all began rattling off praise and astonishment. Really this was no time for such things.   
“Cut it out! Are you guys gossiping gutterwhores or are you trained professionals?” With that insult the men calmed down and finished with their armaments. There were seven of them left. The only goal left was to get out of the fortress alive and with at least two crates worth of arms and armor. Four of the men were needed to carry the crates back to the carriage. The three remaining would defend them.   
“Rahl and Ezzo are with me. The rest of you grab the crates. Let's move quickly. We knew the hard part was going to be getting out, so be prepared for encounters.” Tyr readied the men and gave the order to move out. They moved through the castle hallways at a sluggish pace. The crates were gargantuan and weighed proportionally. They found that there were no guards to be found in the halls. It was convenient, thought Tyr, but also cause for concern. There was no way they had killed the entire fortress guard. They trudged on through the winding elven passages. They eventually came to the door they came in from only to find Commander Larqul and his personal guard waiting for them in the doorway.  
“I don’t know how you scoundrels did it but you will not leave here alive,” Larqul challenged. Tyr took a few steps towards the Commander, separating himself from his own crew.  
“Commander Larqul I presume? Sorry but you don’t have what it takes to keep us here.” Tyr was unflinching, approaching an elf of such high regard.   
“Where such lowlifes acquired such powerful magic I will never know. To see the silveroak towers decay and collapse...it was haunting. The vine walls retracting as if they never existed...I do not know how you could have done such a thing, but I will keep you here until I have the answers I need! My fortress will be restored and you will pay for it in blood!” Larqul drew his sword and charged at Tyr.   
“Allow me…” The woman's voice.  
Tyr drew no weapons. Once the Commander had Tyr in range he slashed with a berserker's fury. Tyr raised his right hand to block the attack with his gauntlet. Larqul’s blade shattered into hundreds of pieces. Tyr relished in the fear he could feel emanating from Larqul. The fear flowed into him, giving him an adrenaline like rush. With a devilish grin he uppercut Larqul, centered right under his chin. Just as contact was made, a punchblade made entirely of shadow erupted from Tyr’s hand. The top of the blade pierced completely through the top of the Commander’s helm with a spurt of blood. Then the blade just wisped away as if it never was. Larqul fell to the floor, blood flowing freely down his face. Tyr could could feel Al’kari’s pleasure.  
Tyr’s men and the Elven guards stood in shock and awe of what had just happened. It was as if time had frozen. Tyr looked at the Elven guards and fed on their fear.   
“Run. Tell your friends, your family, tell anyone you care about….The Shadow King is coming for them.” The guards fear finally grabbed complete hold of their hearts. They fled, their shields and weapons pinging as they struck the ground. Tyr turned to his own men.  
“If you desire to go back to small time muggings and your cheap whores then go. Now. If you want to change everything and carve out a new future...then follow me. “ 

No one moved a muscle until Tyr lead them back to the carriage. They loaded up the arms and Tyr instructed them on where to go. They had set up a headquarters near the edge of the Elven forest. It was close enough to the human border that the Elves would not be too keen to go near it. Tyr watched the carriage leave. He was not done there yet. Alone, he walked to where the silveroak towers once stood. Now there just sat what seemed to be the largest compost heap anyone had seen. The trees had completely decayed through and decomposed.   
“This is because of me.” Tyr surmised.

“Partially. They would have fallen eventually without me in the power conduit. I did make them after all. The magics that shape and bend them are not a one time trick. The spells needed a steady flow of power. They would have eventually fallen without me here, in months...years maybe. But with you...such raw power...such darkness...The last bit of power I sent them before detaching from them was from you. So much darkness! Their resiliency crumbled before you! So delightful!”

Tyr took in her words. Al’kari had made this fortress herself and had made it possible to stand every single day.   
“No one can truly own you can they? I was foolish before. I am just a host for you arent I?” 

“Of course not. You are mine and I am yours. We are one.” Tyr did not know what to make of that statement at all. The whole day had been so much to take in. He stood in the decaying fortress yard, awash in the moonlight that had arose. He began to walk towards the stables. It was time to leave and get his rest. He readied a horse with so many things going on in his mind. Too many things. An arrow came whizzing through the air, taking him through the shoulder. He fell backwards hitting the stable wall. More arrows came, riddling the front of the stable. Tyr grunted as he pulled himself back up, while trying to stay low behind the stable’s protection. He could hear footsteps thumping as they charged the stable. Tyr was hurting. He couldn’t wield any weapons with his shoulder impaled. He snapped the arrow in his shoulder and pulled it through. He tried to wield his shortsword and cringed. The running footsteps got louder and the arrows continued to whizz by. This is going to be the end, he thought.  
“You have nothing to fear. It is they who should fear, for you are fear incarnate.”  
Al’Kari’s words inspired Tyr. A wicked longsword of shadow formed in his hand. Tyr thought a bit harder about his new found powers.  
“Yes...if you want it all you must take it…” The woman’s voice again. Tyr took control. Shadows began to swirl around him, eventually creating a suit of plate armor on him. His shadowplate was weightless and fit him impossibly. When he moved what would normally be restricted flowed freely as the shadow would simply move and adjust with him. Tyr had never felt so empowered. A fierce helm had formed over his head as well. It was a full plate helm with demonic horns. Tyr had become a true visage of fear.   
He arose from the stables to meet his attackers head on. The ambushers were elven guards who had apparently decided to stay. Two of them approached him in their reckless charges of vengeance. One at a time they swung at him with all their weight. He sidestepped one and parried the next. An arrow flew by his head. He continued to melee with the two guards, blocking and dodging, but never really countering. The arrows came but never seemed to hit. Tyr was practicing. He was finding the extent of his new gift. He was getting himself accustomed to the way the shadows ebbed and flowed, of his control over them, and how they affected his movement. He truly moved like a shadow now, seamless and untouchable. Eventually he had had enough. He spun and countered one of the guards. The guard leaned back to dodge the strike but Tyr used the shadows to make his blade longer. The blade reached out and caught the guard in a full on slash down his face. Tyr quickly punched out with his other hand, sending shadow knives at the other attacker. The knives quickly found homes in the guards chest. The guard could not have expected any such thing to happen as Tyr had not even thought of that himself until that very moment.   
Just then an arrow landed its mark. It pierced right through his chest. The shadow armor immediately crushed the arrow once it found its home in his chest. Still that was two severe arrow wounds Tyr had taken that night. The pain made it impossible for Tyr to maintain the shadowplate and it dissipated. Another arrow came and landed true again. Tyr was spit through his eye. As Tyr fell he launched a shadow javelin through the air. Tyr’s fall was not the only one to make a thud as he hit the ground. He broke the arrow in his eye and pulled it out, unfortunately taking out his eye as well.   
He roared in pain.  
“It is too early for our story to end Tyr’esh Shalaar. You cannot end our story tonight.” She whispered in his ear. Tyr managed to fling his body onto a horse. The ride would prove too rough. Tyr fell off the horse and into a river. His last glimpses were of a black decaying wood that was green and lush before he had set foot in it.


	3. Elsa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyr awakens to find himself being cared for by humans.

Tyr awoke in a startle. His last memory was of the cold, wet riverbed against his face. Now he found himself in a small bedroom. The building was clearly a log cabin. It resembled nothing known in Elven architecture. The room had a small mahogany bureau with a mirror atop it. Tyr sat up to get a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His body was incredibly sore, and stabbing pain shot from his shoulder through his whole body. Something was definitely off to him, but Tyr could not quite pick it out. His mind felt muddled and hazy. His reflection cleared up some things for him though. The man in the mirror is not one he would entirely recognize. His head was bandaged, covering up his left eye. Feeling off was putting it lightly. He remembered that last arrow piercing his eye all over again. Tyr put up both his hands and grimaced. He could only see his right hand if he looked straight ahead. He would have to acquaint himself with his new handicap. Something else ate at him though.  
His right hand, the only one he could see, no longer seemed to have the fearsome gauntlet that destroyed the fortress in the wood. In its place was a fingerless leather glove, something a hunter might use to draw a bow. He felt no magic or power emanating from it like he had before. More worrisome was the lacking of her voice. Had it ended before it even truly began? Perhaps it had been some sort of illusion. A deception of Elvish magic. He was so deep in thought on this, he barely noticed a light rapping on the bedroom door.  
A gentle feminine voice came through the door,”I’m coming in.” The door slowly eased open as a petite woman slipped into the room. She was carrying a tray with a pitcher of water, a couple glasses, and two plates of eggs and some kind of meat. When her eyes actually landed on Tyr she gasped.  
“Oh my! You’re actually awake!” The woman sat the tray on the bureau and sat down on the edge of the bed. Tyr watched her closely with his one remaining eye. He couldn’t help but notice a certain grace about this human. She was short and most likely a life in the woods had given her a strong figure. She clearly was no stranger to physical labor however she still maintained soft features. The scent. Tyr breathed it in like he was taking a breath for the first time. Human’s were known for covering themselves in scents to attract the other sex. Elves didn’t partake in such rituals, which made the smell new and alluring. He noticed her eyes were blue with a green ring towards the center. Tyr was lost in her image.  
“My name is Elsa. Can you tell me your name?” She was blushing a bit from Tyr’s blatant stare. He didn’t even realize his demeanor until she spoke to him. He immediately snapped out of his trance and returned to his natural furrowed brow.  
“My name is….Fahl’Quar…..Where am I? How did I get here?” Tyr couldn’t reveal his true name. He couldn’t have ended up too far from where he lost consciousness. Surely enough the Elven Woodscouts would be looking for him.  
“You’re in the wood east of Lakesberg. Lakesberg is really just a village though. Usually if we need supplies we have to go all the way to Poppendale. Me and my dad live out here though in the woods. He brought us out here when I was still a little one. I’ve grown to really prefer it out here though...” Elsa had started to ramble at a rapid fire pace. Tyr lost focus and patience.  
“Focus! How did I get here?!” Tyr was short with her which he immediately regretted.  
“Excuse me Fahl’Quar! It is rude to interrupt people when they’re answering YOUR questions. Especially when that person changes YOUR bandages and stitched up YOUR wounds.” Elsa’s face had been full of compassion and nostalgia when she had been talking to him before. Now it quickly morphed into a stern demeanor that would freeze a charging berserker in its tracks. She took the tray and put it on Tyr’s lap. “I’ve made sure you’ve eaten and had water every day since I brought you in here. Today you can do it yourself.” She stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. Tyr thought about what she said. She had single handedly saved him as far as he could figure out. The gauntlet didn’t have any healing powers that he knew of, not that it was even present at the moment. He wanted to go get Elsa back. He had more questions and needed more answers. He attempted to get up from the bed. The sharp pain in his elbow spiked and he collapsed out of the bed. The breakfast tray flipped up in the air and its contents shattered on the floor landing on and around Tyr’s unconscious form.

Tyr once again awoke in the small wooden bedroom. The rough linens certainly weren’t silk but they were a relief to his sore body. He ran his hand through his hair as he gave sitting up a try. He noticed his head bandage had been removed. In its stead was a black leather eyepatch. The pain in his shoulder was still there but he didn’t find it crippling as it had been the last time he remembered being conscious. How many days had it been since Elsa left him that tray? Once again Tyr had a thirst for answers. In his usual brazen mindset, he attempted getting out of the bed again. He slowly let his feet onto the floor. The wooden floor felt cold but smooth. The craftmanship of the building became noticeable. It was no Elven masterpiece but the effort put into every piece of wood had been exceptional as each was worked with great care. He slowly pushed himself up off the bed. His shoulder pain increased but was nothing that he couldn’t handle. Tyr only noticed now that the only clothes he was wearing was underpants. His shoulder was freshly bandaged but the rest of his torso was adorned with scars. The left side of his chest bore a black and red tattoo. The figure had smooth curved lines that leapt from each other and intertwined.The black and red alternated to fill in the small shapes that the lines had formed. In a more abstract way it appeared to be wings of some sort. He scanned the room for any fresh clothes he might be able to put on before he explored beyond his cage but to no avail. The elf slowly opened the door and entered the hallway quietly. The hallway was small. In one direction was two more doors just like the one he had come through. In the other direction was a room with a woodstove and an adjacent room that appeared to be a dining area.  
Tyr could hear a heated conversation coming from one of the other bedrooms. He slowly made his way over to the noise and found its origin at the farthest door. He gently put his ear against the door.  
“We shouldn’t be in….they’ll be coming by any…….” A muffled male voice was making an argument over Tyr most likely.  
“Daddy we can’t ju...severely injured! Just anoth…..” This was clearly Elsa’s voice. Tyr didn’t know how many people lived in this cabin but he had Elsa’s voice burned into his mind. He was not mistaken. The male voice spoke more words but they were too hushed for him to make out. He needed answers and time was of the essence. Who knows how long he’d already been in this wood shack? Tyr entered the bedroom to find Elsa and who he assumed was her father. Elsa had been pacing as he entered but she stopped as soon as the door opened and just stared at Tyr. She looked horrified. The father on the other hand looked furious.  
“You have some nerve Elf.” The father was no lightweight. He must have had a golem for a father because he was colossal. Tyr estimated him at 6 feet tall. He didn’t want to guess the man’s weight. He appeared to be pure muscle, with a chest like a barrell.  
“Hopefully more than some of them. Though after that scuffle I was in I’d be lucky to have some of my nerves. Look I have questions and you have answers. This doesn’t need to be difficult or time consuming. Just fill me in on what I need to know and I’ll be out of your hair. Win win?” Tyr had no fear of the giant. He had been in far worse brawls back in the Elven slums. He might not have always come out of a scuff in the best shape but he always made it out. Tyr’s lack of respect though had pushed the wrong button. The father’s face turned bright red. Tyr was convinced the temperature in the room went up a few degrees. Suddenly Elsa grabbed Tyr by the wrist and yanked him out of the room.  
The smell again. What was it? That was the question he needed to get the answer to. Elsa dragged him all the way out of the house through a backdoor by the wood stove.  
“What is the matter with you!?” Elsa yelled at him in a hushed tone. Tyr wanted to laugh at her angry yet reserved outburst. Sometimes Tyr just couldn’t help himself.  
“I’m just a simple lost elf who wants some answers is all. You however seem to be confused on whether we’re telling secrets or yelling at each other.”  
“You are rude Fahl’Quar! It is not necessary. Its hard enough getting my father to let you stay here in the first place. You are not a help to yourself just so you know.” She spoke normally now. Her voice was firm and she stood there with her hands on her hips as if lecturing a child.  
“I’m terribly sorry...Elsa was it? Of course it was. Look, I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I really do. I’m in a bit of a bind though as far as time is concerned. I don’t think you want me to stay here.” Tyr was being as sincere as he could be. The woman had saved his life and nurtured him back to full health. What Tyr had thought was fully healthy anyway. Elsa furrowed her brow at him and suddenly jabbed his injured shoulder. The pain spiked. Tyr yelped, spun, and immediately fell to the floor. A mixture of embarrassment and pain danced on his face.  
“I don’t think you’re going anywhere Fahl. Can I call you Fahl? Of course I can,” Elsa retorted to him with a chuckle. She helped him back up to his feet and put him back into his bed. Tyr’s shoulder was still in bad shape. His eye had healed up perfectly fine. Tyr wondered why his shoulder was healing so slowly.  
“It’s because you’re opening the suture every night when you go to sleep. You keep tossing and turning. I have to stitch it every morning.” Elsa had read the concern on his face. Tyr was confounded how well this human girl had read him.  
“Like a book, Fahl. Like a book.” She teased at him as he continued to stare questioningly at her.  
“How did I get here Elsa…” Tyr tried to pitch his questions one last time as he sat up in the bed next to her.  
“...I found you in the river about a mile or so southeast of here. You were just floating down the river. I thought for sure you were a dead body, but you just happen to wash up five feet away from me. I could see how fresh your wounds were. A little bit closer and I saw your chest rising and falling. I couldn’t believe you were still alive. Naturally I threw you on my horse and brought you back here. I’ve been cleaning and fixing your wounds for about two weeks now. You’ve mostly been unconscious but about once a day I could get you to drink water. I’ve eaten by your side everyday since I brought you back. I stay up late just in case you finally wake up from one of your insane nightmares. I wake up early so that I can fix your bandages and stitches. I doubt you’d remember any of that though. Not that you would apparently care anyway.” Elsa had told him everything. She never mentioned the glove. Tyr was beginning to think it had truly abandoned him. Tyr did feel a bit ashamed that he was so callous to her despite such great hospitality. Even thieves have honor right?  
“That...clears up a lot for me Elsa. Thank you. Surely I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. You need to understand that people will be looking for me here. It isn’t safe for you as long as I’m here. I should really leave.” Tyr was honest with her. Maybe it had to do with her long story or her disarmingly lovely scent, but Tyr needed this woman to be safe. She was a treasure.  
“You think I’m stupid because I’m a woman or because I’m just a ‘lowly’ human? I find you all shot up by arrows in a river and you don’t think I know that people are after you? Get some sleep Fahl. You have chores to do in the morning.” Elsa strode out of his room with her usual ease and grace. Tyr’s eyes hunted her until she was no longer in view. Tyr could not even comprehend what she was doing to his head.  
Elsa managed to convince her father to keep Tyr around as long as he made himself useful. Her father made it abundantly clear that at the first sign of trouble, he would give Tyr up in a heartbeat. Tyr spent the days doing the odds and ends that needed to be done. He would gather firewood, set traps, fish, wash clothes, and any other tasks Elsa’s father came up with just to tire him out. Weeks went by like this. Elsa and Tyr grew very close over these days. Spending countless hours together out in the woods. Some days they would stay out and adventure to a clearing where they could see the stars when night fell. All good things come to an end however.  
They were out at the clearing and could hear the ground clamor. A stampede of hoofbeats were coming from the direction of the house. Tyr jumped up onto his horse,”Elsa they found me! They found me! I gotta go save your dad!” With that warning he was off. He hadn’t felt so sharp and alive since the fortress. He nimbly controlled his horse avoiding vegetation and jumping fallen saplings. Elsa had tried to pursue him but was too far behind. She wouldn’t get to the house until minutes after Tyr.  
Tyr dismounted the horse before it even came to a halt. There were five horses, decked in Elven regalia, waiting outside the wooden house. Tyr knew the front door was surely covered by two swordsman. Most likely there was one elf covering the back door as well. That left two keeping lookout on the roof. It didn’t appear as though there was anyone on the roof though. He couldn’t risk climbing all the way to the roof. He stealthily approached a side window of the house, making sure to duck down under any window on the way. The side window went directly into his room. He always left it unlocked, just in case. He opened it up and pulled himself through it. It was a tight fit but he burst through and fell to the floor with a thud.  
“Shit…” Tyr cursed at himself for being so sloppy. He had gotten rusty living in the woods. His roguish skills had gone unpracticed in his Elsa days. His shortswords were kept in a locked chest in Elsa’s room, which was directly next to his. He quietly opened his door and began to tiptoe around the corner. Standing on either side of the hallway were two heavily armed Elves. Clad in breastplate and wielding decorated arms, they were clearly a member of the King’s personal guard. They both drew their elegantly curved longswords and readied themselves. Tyr could see Elsa’s father behind one of the guards. He was wringing his hands with a smug grin on his face. Tyr was conflicted if this could really be considered betrayal. He owed much to the man yet this still tasted sour. The guards knew which room was Tyr’s and left the window unlocked on purpose. That’s where the two he expected to be on the roof were. They were already waiting for him inside. A fire roared inside of Tyr as he stared at Elsa’s father.  
“Tyr’esh Shalaar. By order of the Protector of Sylqas you are ordered to come quietly, so that you may be tried in the executive court.” The two guards performed their speech in unison. It was as if they were both just one person. Their movements and their words always copying each other. Tyr wouldn’t be brought down by them. A couple of uniformed windup dolls. In fact, no one would bring down Tyr. Tyr was destined for glory. She could feel his desire for glory welling up in his gut. She felt his heart clench with ambition and passion. She felt his true nature once again. “Tyr’esh Shalaar, this is not the end for you. Not yet. Glory awaits us dear…”  
The black leather glove on Tyr’s hand began to morph. Shadows rolled over his hand and forearm like waves. It returned to the form of a shadowy plate gauntlet. He immediately lunged at the left guard. He moved like an arrow across the room. The gauntlet had just formed and the guards’ eyes had become large. She felt the fear. She craved their fear. Tyr’s fist connected with the guard’s chest and a shadow punchblade burst forth from the gauntlet, tearing through his breastplate as if it were nothing. Without missing a beat, the blade dissipated allowing Tyr to swiftly turn to his next prey. Pointing his fist at the second guard he sent a trilogy of shadow daggers into the guard’s neck. The two guards once again in unison collapsed to the ground with a single large thud.  
Tyr’s eyes now met directly with Elsa’s father. His face had gone from smug satifaction to grim terror. Al’Kari was delighted. The father would be her masterpiece, however it wasn’t his turn yet. Tyr fired off a shadow bola from his hand that wrapped up Elsa’s father. He collapsed to the floor, quivering in fear. Tyr sunk back into the shadows on the wall. His dark form moved across the walls towards the front door. The two guards there had separated, as one went to investigate what happened by Tyr’s room. Two ethereal shortswords formed in his hands as he materialized from out of the shadows. His two shadow blades cleft the guard by the door and in another smooth motion he flung one of his shortswords at the investigating guard. The guard never saw it coming as it pierced his chest as if a javelin. Tyr breathed deep for a moment as he listened for the sole remaining threat. Tyr heard the backdoor clamor shut as the last guard tried to escape. Tyr walked calmly outside. The shadowy shortsword still in his hand morphed into an insidious longbow. The remaining guard was mounting his horse and begin to gallop off through the woods. Tyr drew back on the midnight strand of his bow. An arrow formed across the bow as Tyr took aim with his only eye.  
“Take it,” she whispered seductively to him. Tyr loosed the arrow. The shadowy projectile flew through the air. Tyr had led his target true. The arrow pierced through tree after tree,shattering trunks and branches, eventually finding the back of the guards skull. It pierced his helmet and punctured so deep it came out of the guards mouth, sticking his head to the back of his horses head. The horse bellowed in pain and fell onto its side.  
Tyr had turned around before he could ever confirm that his arrow would hit its mark. His confirmation was in the horse’s bellows. He made his way back into the house. Dead bodies littered the floor of the tiny abode. It had only taken him minutes to dismantle these elite warriors. Now it was time for his masterpiece. He rolled over Elsa’s father so that he could look him in the eye. Now it was Tyr who grinned.  
“You’re a large man Baldur. Unfortunately you’re an even larger coward.” Tyr formed a small shadowy dagger in his hand. He put it up very closely to Baldur’s cheek. The giant’s eyes grew wide and teary.  
“Look at you. You’re so pathetic. How could you ever have protected Elsa from anything? I want you to know Baldur, that I am going to take great care of her. I want you to know that she will always be mine. Forever. I’m going to make sure you remember. When you see my full face, then I’ll know that you understand.”  
Tyr removed his eyepatch. The socket was physically empty, however there was a purple glow in the socket. It radiated power and inspired fear in those who would meet its gaze. Baldur began to cry as Tyr grabbed his hair and forced him to look into its shadowy depths. With his other hand Tyr began to drag the shadow dagger across the mans face. Baldur’s flesh smoked where the blade cut. Baldur cried out in agony. Tyr laughed as he continued to torture Elsa’s father. He had carved a symbol onto the man’s face. As he finished his work of art, Tyr suddenly became serious.  
“You lack ambition. You were sick with fear so much that it prevented you from even being near people. It infected you so much that you would turn on an injured guest. This is the price you must pay for your cowardice. Vara’e’lor. Die in disgrace,Baldur.”  
With those final words Tyr lacerated the man’s jugular, letting his life completely spill out. Tyr put his eye patch back on and Al’Kari returned to being a fingerless leather glove on his hand. He knew Elsa would be coming in any second. Sure enough the front door opened with a bang as it slammed against the wall behind it. Elsa froze as soon as she crossed the threshold. She was not prepared for such a gory scene. Tyr was still kneeling by her father. Elsa staggered over to his side and collapsed onto her knees. She took in the horror of his face.  
“Wha...what is…..why!?” She couldn’t even complete any thoughts verbally. She was shaken to her core. Such an atrocity was unheard of in this region of man. This region was overseen by the Lord of Poppendale. The Lord was an old man, however his son was a wild and great adventurer. His renown was enough to keep the region safe for the most part.  
“Your father gave me up to them as soon as I got here. I managed to take down a couple before they restrained me….Once they had me captured they did this to your father. I tried so hard to save him Elsa….I was too late. I broke my bonds only as they finished with him. These were elite elven warriors Elsa. Their deaths will be felt by the King. Your father was avenged.” Tyr spun his tale to Elsa. Part of him knew he had to lie to her if he wanted to stay in her company ever again. There was another part of him though that wouldn’t want her to know the truth ever, for her own protection. If she knew the truth, she would be destroyed. In Tyr’s scenario however, she still has him.  
Elsa knelt there processing Tyr’s words for awhile. Eventually she just collapsed into his arms. She cried into his neck for an hour before her tears dried up. She gazed up at him and into his one elvish eye. She found passion and love there. The two gathered what supplies they needed and set out east.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stopped writing here. I wanted the rest to be discovered during the actual campaign. Ideally if I pick it up again it would be from the POV of Tyr's son, which is my character Zeal, a Half-Elf Fighter.


End file.
